The high school biology curriculum has changed significantly from what Charles Cooper said he was taught roughly 15 years ago.

“It was pretty much plants, matter and fossils,” Cooper, who is on the verge of finishing the Mastery Charter School’s teaching residency program, told TAPinto Camden. “We never even expanded or talked about growing, farming, or anything of that sort.“

Cooper said a new classroom within Mastery High School of Camden that includes a hydroponics lab, propagation racks for breeding specimens and vertical hydroponic farms for growing plants in sand, gravel, or liquid will be his workspace in the 2025-26 school year and will expand on the ‘that sort.’ The classroom and its components, which also include a double sink, moisture-resistant ceiling tiles, new lighting fixtures, prep tables and workstations, were unveiled to the public during a ribbon cutting on Monday.